Boxscore

ERIE, Pa. -- Mercyhurst College combined a powerful offensive attack with stellar defense to take down IUP 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-13) on Friday night and remain alive in the hunt for a PSAC playoff berth.  

Mercyhurst improved to 20-11 overall, 11-7 in the PSAC while IUP fell to 17-16 overall, 9-10 in the PSAC.

Should Gannon lose to Slippery Rock in tonight's match, the Lakers will need a win against California and another Gannon loss to Clarion to earn one of four Western Division tournament spots.

Chelsea Jensen paced the Lakers with 16 kills while Becky Leusch added 13 kills on the night.  Gretta Freyermuth just missed out on a double-digit effort with nine kills in 15 attempts against just two errors on the night for a .467 attack percentage.

Setter Julia Butler added 37 helpers in the win while libero Kendal Ashworth returned to the lineup and led the defense with 23 digs.  Becky Smith put down five blocks while Justine Smith turned on four to aid a defense that recorded 11 blocks.

Next up for the Lakers is the regular season finale against California at 4 p.m.